Meatpacking to get slew of new retailers

The Meatpacking District is seeing the beginnings of an influx of high-end retailers with mass appeal, the Wall Street Journal reported, in the wake of the departure of ultra-exclusive designers like Stella McCartney from the neighborhood.

Sephora, Levi’s, Intermix and Tory Burch are all entering the district, while brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Chanel have also eyed potential locations in the area, which runs roughly from West 14th Street south to Gansevoort Street, and from the Hudson River east to Hudson Street. The district has a total of 200,000 square feet of vacant retail space.

Landlords are increasing their asking rents in response to this surge in interest, the Journal said; Taconic Investment Partners and Thor Equities are asking $600 a square foot for the ground floor of a retail space at 837 Washington Street for example, compared with an average asking rent of $40 a square foot just 10 years ago.

“Rents are off the chart,” said Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman’s retail group, who wasn’t sure if the asking rents were realistic.